History Main / Crossgen

A ComicBook company that flourished briefly in the early oughties, then crashed and burned rather spectacularly. Its conceit was a SharedUniverse comprised of books in many different genres, all fitting together to create a huge MythArc that early WordOfGod insisted would be at least five years in the making.

Founded sometime in 1998, [=CrossGen=] started publishing four comics series (dubbed by fans the "four core" books) in early 2000:

* ''ComicBook/{{Mystic}}'', a story of magic and mysticism drawn in a conspicuously Art Nouveau style.* ''ComicBook/{{Sigil}}'', a SpaceOpera humans vs. aliens story starring embittered ex-soldiers rediscovering their ideals.* ''Comicbook/{{Scion}}'', a sci-fantasy story set in a techno-feudal world.* ''ComicBook/{{Meridian}}'', a ComingOfAgeStory set in a Renaissance-style world with naturally buoyant islands.

These four books featured parallel storylines happening to very different protagonists, set in very different worlds, and aimed at very different demographics. Two mysterious beings (dubbed by fans "Creator and Sidekick") discuss the state of the universe and an upcoming crisis, while the Creator decides to empower individuals on different powers by marking them with the Sigil, which grants them access to the Universal Energies. Each story begins with a hero, the [=Sigil-Bearer=], a thinly-veiled [[LoveInterests love interest]], a [[{{Mentors}} mentor]] with softly-glowing orange eyes, and an [[{{Villains}} antagonist]].

Gradually, other titles were added which explored different aspects of the [[TheVerse Sigilverse]]:

* ''ComicBook/TheFirst'', the extraordinarily powerful beings who consider themselves the Sigilverse's gods, who discover that these new [=Sigil-Bearers=] can siphon off their power and set out to destroy them.* ''ComicBook/{{Crux}}'', set on Earth and thereby revealing the Sigilverse to be taking place roughly a hundred thousand years in the future.* ''ComicBook/{{Sojourn}}'', a HeroicFantasy title exploring the idea of an evil, tyrannical [=Sigil-Bearer=].* ''ComicBook/{{Ruse}}'', a Victorian-style DetectiveDrama whose connection to the overarching mystery is...well, mysterious.* ''ComicBook/{{Negation}}'', a MirrorUniverse that does not obey the rules of physics, where a RagTagBunchOfMisfits kidnapped from the Sigilverse are chased by the BigBad of the MythArc.* ''ComicBook/ThePath'', a [=Sigil-Bearer=] story set on a Samurai world.* ''ComicBook/WayOfTheRat'', a Kung-Fu story featuring mythological weapons and described as a "book-end" of ''ThePath''.* ''ComicBook/{{Route 666}}'', a horror story related to ''Negation'' in an initially obscure way.* ''{{Brath}}'', a [=Sigil-Bearer=] CaptainErsatz of, not ''ConanTheBarbarian'', but Creator/RobertEHoward's similar character BranMakMorn.* ''{{Solus}}'', the title meant to expose the mysteries behind the Sigilverse and reward loyal fans with some concrete answers.* ''ComicBook/ElCazador'' and ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'', both books set in the Sigilverse's "past."

[=CrossGen=] also published a number of books that didn't take place within the Sigilverse, and weren't related to it at all. Since these projects were taken on in the later days of the company's existence, many of them didn't last long, and quite a few were announced but never published, as the company declared chapter eleven and eventually sold all its assets to Disney. Notable among these is ''ComicBook/{{Abadazad}}'', a surreal children's fantasy title which was the incentive for Disney buying [=CrossGen=] out, and thus continues to be published.

MarvelComics has [[http://marvel.com/news/story/14857/marvel_announces_a_new_imprint announced a [=CrossGen=] imprint]], starting with 4-issue limited series of ''Ruse'' and ''Sigil''. While ''Ruse'' still stars detective Simon Archard, the new ''Sigil'' series appears to be InNameOnly, starring "Samantha Rey, a 16-year-old girl from South Carolina who gets swept up in a war beyond her understanding and may possess the power to turn the tide in the form of a mysterious symbol on her chest even she doesn't understand", and described as "epic fantasy on a colossal scale, ultimately spanning the whole of human history." Subsequently, a third title was added, ''Mystic'', which keeps the basic concept of "magical sisters in a fantasy world and the 'wrong' one is TheChosenOne", but relocates it to a Steampunk Disney movie.

----!!Tropes found in the Sigilverse as a whole include:* CallToAdventure: All the Sigil-bearers get a glowy tattoo and strange powers foisted on them without warning. Adventure ensues.* ComesGreatResponsibility: With glowy tattoo comes glowy responsibility, whether you want it or not.* CrisisCrossover: The last two comics of the original Sigilverse were ''NegationWar,'' which was going to consist of all the sigil-powered heroes fighting the villains of the anti-sigil-verse. Alas, the company went under at that point.* CutShort: One of the most infamous examples. The company's financial collapse meant the sprawling, epic MythArc went unresolved. This example is so bad that even a short miniseries meant to give some semblance of an ending ended up getting nipped before it could finish.* EvilChancellor: Many of the sigil-bearers acquired enemies. Those enemies often then acquired mysterious advisors with strange powers. These advisors were usually members of TheFirst, who didn't trust this whole sigil-giving thing.* FanService: The early issues of the core four were rife with it, including {{PantyShot}}s and AbsoluteCleavage. However, a few months in, the creators convinced the senior editor that the books would sell on their innate strengths, and didn't need to pander. You can identify this moment, because all the main female characters suddenly put more clothes on.* FanworkBan: Enacted because of Rule 34. Not always obeyed.* PowerTattoo: The sigil itself, a yellow/red yin/yang-ish symbol that grants great power. Some people get variants, such as the double-tailed orange sigil in ''{{Crux}},'' or the negative-space "N" symbol of the Negation.----

to:

A ComicBook company that flourished briefly in the early oughties, then crashed and burned rather spectacularly. Its conceit was a SharedUniverse comprised of books in many different genres, all fitting together to create a huge MythArc that early WordOfGod insisted would be at least five years in the making.

Founded sometime in 1998, [=CrossGen=] started publishing four comics series (dubbed by fans the "four core" books) in early 2000:

* ''ComicBook/{{Mystic}}'', a story of magic and mysticism drawn in a conspicuously Art Nouveau style.* ''ComicBook/{{Sigil}}'', a SpaceOpera humans vs. aliens story starring embittered ex-soldiers rediscovering their ideals.* ''Comicbook/{{Scion}}'', a sci-fantasy story set in a techno-feudal world.* ''ComicBook/{{Meridian}}'', a ComingOfAgeStory set in a Renaissance-style world with naturally buoyant islands.

These four books featured parallel storylines happening to very different protagonists, set in very different worlds, and aimed at very different demographics. Two mysterious beings (dubbed by fans "Creator and Sidekick") discuss the state of the universe and an upcoming crisis, while the Creator decides to empower individuals on different powers by marking them with the Sigil, which grants them access to the Universal Energies. Each story begins with a hero, the [=Sigil-Bearer=], a thinly-veiled [[LoveInterests love interest]], a [[{{Mentors}} mentor]] with softly-glowing orange eyes, and an [[{{Villains}} antagonist]].

Gradually, other titles were added which explored different aspects of the [[TheVerse Sigilverse]]:

* ''ComicBook/TheFirst'', the extraordinarily powerful beings who consider themselves the Sigilverse's gods, who discover that these new [=Sigil-Bearers=] can siphon off their power and set out to destroy them.* ''ComicBook/{{Crux}}'', set on Earth and thereby revealing the Sigilverse to be taking place roughly a hundred thousand years in the future.* ''ComicBook/{{Sojourn}}'', a HeroicFantasy title exploring the idea of an evil, tyrannical [=Sigil-Bearer=].* ''ComicBook/{{Ruse}}'', a Victorian-style DetectiveDrama whose connection to the overarching mystery is...well, mysterious.* ''ComicBook/{{Negation}}'', a MirrorUniverse that does not obey the rules of physics, where a RagTagBunchOfMisfits kidnapped from the Sigilverse are chased by the BigBad of the MythArc.* ''ComicBook/ThePath'', a [=Sigil-Bearer=] story set on a Samurai world.* ''ComicBook/WayOfTheRat'', a Kung-Fu story featuring mythological weapons and described as a "book-end" of ''ThePath''.* ''ComicBook/{{Route 666}}'', a horror story related to ''Negation'' in an initially obscure way.* ''{{Brath}}'', a [=Sigil-Bearer=] CaptainErsatz of, not ''ConanTheBarbarian'', but Creator/RobertEHoward's similar character BranMakMorn.* ''{{Solus}}'', the title meant to expose the mysteries behind the Sigilverse and reward loyal fans with some concrete answers.* ''ComicBook/ElCazador'' and ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'', both books set in the Sigilverse's "past."

[=CrossGen=] also published a number of books that didn't take place within the Sigilverse, and weren't related to it at all. Since these projects were taken on in the later days of the company's existence, many of them didn't last long, and quite a few were announced but never published, as the company declared chapter eleven and eventually sold all its assets to Disney. Notable among these is ''ComicBook/{{Abadazad}}'', a surreal children's fantasy title which was the incentive for Disney buying [=CrossGen=] out, and thus continues to be published.

MarvelComics has [[http://marvel.com/news/story/14857/marvel_announces_a_new_imprint announced a [=CrossGen=] imprint]], starting with 4-issue limited series of ''Ruse'' and ''Sigil''. While ''Ruse'' still stars detective Simon Archard, the new ''Sigil'' series appears to be InNameOnly, starring "Samantha Rey, a 16-year-old girl from South Carolina who gets swept up in a war beyond her understanding and may possess the power to turn the tide in the form of a mysterious symbol on her chest even she doesn't understand", and described as "epic fantasy on a colossal scale, ultimately spanning the whole of human history." Subsequently, a third title was added, ''Mystic'', which keeps the basic concept of "magical sisters in a fantasy world and the 'wrong' one is TheChosenOne", but relocates it to a Steampunk Disney movie.

----!!Tropes found in the Sigilverse as a whole include:* CallToAdventure: All the Sigil-bearers get a glowy tattoo and strange powers foisted on them without warning. Adventure ensues.* ComesGreatResponsibility: With glowy tattoo comes glowy responsibility, whether you want it or not.* CrisisCrossover: The last two comics of the original Sigilverse were ''NegationWar,'' which was going to consist of all the sigil-powered heroes fighting the villains of the anti-sigil-verse. Alas, the company went under at that point.* CutShort: One of the most infamous examples. The company's financial collapse meant the sprawling, epic MythArc went unresolved. This example is so bad that even a short miniseries meant to give some semblance of an ending ended up getting nipped before it could finish.* EvilChancellor: Many of the sigil-bearers acquired enemies. Those enemies often then acquired mysterious advisors with strange powers. These advisors were usually members of TheFirst, who didn't trust this whole sigil-giving thing.* FanService: The early issues of the core four were rife with it, including {{PantyShot}}s and AbsoluteCleavage. However, a few months in, the creators convinced the senior editor that the books would sell on their innate strengths, and didn't need to pander. You can identify this moment, because all the main female characters suddenly put more clothes on.* FanworkBan: Enacted because of Rule 34. Not always obeyed.* PowerTattoo: The sigil itself, a yellow/red yin/yang-ish symbol that grants great power. Some people get variants, such as the double-tailed orange sigil in ''{{Crux}},'' or the negative-space "N" symbol of the Negation.----[[redirect:Creator/CrossGen]]

* CutShort: One of the most infamous examples. The company's financial collapse meant the sprawling, epic MythArc went unresolved. This example is so bad that even a short miniseries meant to give some semblance of an ending ended up getting nipped before it could finish.

[=CrossGen=] also published a number of books that didn't take place within the Sigilverse, and weren't related to it at all. Since these projects were taken on in the later days of the company's existence, many of them didn't last long, and quite a few were announced but never published, as the company declared chapter eleven and eventually sold all its assets to Disney. Notable among these is ''{{Abadazad}}'', a surreal children's fantasy title which was the incentive for Disney buying [=CrossGen=] out, and thus continues to be published.

to:

[=CrossGen=] also published a number of books that didn't take place within the Sigilverse, and weren't related to it at all. Since these projects were taken on in the later days of the company's existence, many of them didn't last long, and quite a few were announced but never published, as the company declared chapter eleven and eventually sold all its assets to Disney. Notable among these is ''{{Abadazad}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Abadazad}}'', a surreal children's fantasy title which was the incentive for Disney buying [=CrossGen=] out, and thus continues to be published.

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